Abimbola Abe Opeyemi

23/03/2021

The baking business is very competitive in Nigeria. It's an over-saturated market. I have over 15 contacts who bake and it's a skill everyone is jumping on daily.

But most people I know aren't exceptional in how they market this skill

If you're interested in not only standing out as a Baker but making sales on social media, then read this post or tag anyone who will find it helpful.

05/03/2021

your caption here

05/03/2021

04/11/2020

Recognizing your customers' problem

1. Ask Questions:
Don't assume your product will solve the customer's problem. Ask random questions about the challenges they're facing. Go the extra mile of creating a survey form just to understand their problem better. For instance, I did a little survey before starting this broadcast series and my content is tailored to provide solutions to the challenges business owners are facing online.
Asking questions will help you differentiate between your buyers and non-buyers.
Above all, it'll help you know what other problems they're facing and think of other offers you can provide them.
The man who refused to get bottled water because he has access to Tap water in his house(from yesterday's illustration), you can still make him your customer by providing a Water purifier, right?😋

2. Check your reviews: If you already have a customer base, what better ways to know your customers than asking for their reviews? Reviews will show how to improve your product and services.

How To Position Yourself Without Being "Salesy"

Provide value consistently:
Knowing their problem doesn't mean you can start pushing product in their faces. It means now that you know the questions on your customer's mind, you can start providing the answers
As a skincare product seller, why don't you share tips on how to avoid acne?

Educate your clients about certain products that are harmful to the body.
As a graphic designer, how does design affect human buying? Why is it important to use great visuals for your business?

If you find ways to solve your customer problems, they will initiate the buying process.

I hope you found this valuable? Go the extra mile to add this value to another person.😁

02/11/2020

Have you ever been dragged by a cloth trader in a busy market?

I mean the " #100, #100 naira, comman buy jean", people that keep dragging you by the hand.

Well, I've experienced it severally and I usually do resist the urge to slap someone's son.😑😒

One way or the other, you might have experienced it too, you know how annoying it is right?

That's how you sound when you keep sending pictures of your product to an uninterested audience or even having a beady status or even worse - spamming a WhatsApp group🙄

But imagine a different scenario where you are on your way to visit a friend and your outfit suddenly decides to embarrass you by tearing halfway🙆🏼‍♀️🌚
Embarrassing right?

Well, let's assume you managed to get to the market, and then you see the same Igbo trader holding a pair of trouser and dragging you by the hand to come and buy.

You wouldn't really mind the dragging right? (Well, I wouldn't) The only thing on my mind would be the sizes he has and how much it'll cost. Just give me the jeans trouser and let me change.

That's you when you position yourself right at the front of your target audience with a good understanding of their problem.

You can sound "salesy" when selling bottled water to a man sitting comfortably in his house and has access to tap water, well water at his disposal but you can never be "salesy" to a man who has been in the desert for days without water.

The scenarios are totally different.

Now you know why you need to provide answers to the question of who your target audience is

Did you learn something?

27/10/2020

What would I do If I wasn't afraid?
***
Fear is what makes you have that constant ache right in the pit of your very being.
Fear limits you.

There are certain things I would have loved to do buti have countless times given fear the chance to have the final say.

One of the things I would have loved to do If I was not afraid Is : SWIMMING

Yeah, you read that right🤣.

I'm Hydrophobic.

And it all started when i was just a baby. My Grandma had strapped me behind her back to get something and possibly say Hi to some people she knew. She was about crossing the river through a round slippery log when her leg slipped and we fell inside the river.

Growing up, my mum told me this story almost a hundred times. And usually, she uses the story to thank God for my life

Yes, I was a baby and wasn't even aware of all that happened, but the stories about it definitely brought fear into my heart.

The fear doubled when it happened again. This time I was older...😪😪

I was in Nursery 1 and we were on our way to school. As usual, a neighbor of ours whose son attends the same school as i did led the way while I and get Son followed.

We were late and she decided to pass through a "shortcut". This shortcut is by a stream and we would need to climb through a log of wood to get to the other side.

Her son walked through successfully.

But it took a lot of convincing and even threats to get me into moving closer to the wood.
When I finally summoned up the courage to eventually climb through, my hands were mid-air trying to balance myself. But unfortunately, I missed one footing and I fell right into the stream!!

I gasped for air!

I cried for help!

I flapped my hands so hard to stay afloat.

It was a terrible experience.

Fortunately, a guy dived in at the right time to take me out.

Despite the fact that I'll love to take a long dive in the ocean or even have a relaxing evening in a pool, these two memories are still etched into my brain...

But someday...😁

What would you do If you weren't afraid?

26/10/2020

A BUSINESS LESSON YOU SHOULD NOT MISS!
Daddy Favour is an energetic man. He moves around tirelessly just to satisfy his customers.

No matter what, his Cybercafé located at WEMA Building alongside other Cafe is always bustling with activities.

Customers calling for his attention.
"I want to print admission form"
"I want to laminate my revalidation form"
"I need to check my admission status"

And somehow he always finds a way to answer every one, sometimes immediately directing them to his assistants.

This afternoon, a short man in his mid 50 came into his Cafe with his son who was obviously a fresher. They looked tired. Daddy Favour rushed to them, offered them a bottle of chilled water before asking what they came for. Once he helped in making all the necessary online payments, Daddy Favour offered his help in helping the boy get a hostel. After a few phone calls, the young fresher had a list of recommended hostels to pick from.
Daddy Favour is a good businessman.

He knows the best way to keep his customers coming back is by keeping his attitude right and offering "Jara" to whatever service they ask for.
Another trick I noticed he uses in driving these freshers to his Shop Is by providing free photocopies.

In what ways have you been offering additional values to your customers?
Or are you one of those that wait till Yuletide period to present them with a gift they might not even end up using??

You see, what Yoruba call "Jara" might seem insignificant, but it actually goes a long way in keeping a client.

While growing up, we had a neighbor who sold "daily needs", but she never smiles and always found a reason to complain about everything. Meanwhile, some distance away was another woman who sold the exact thing but never failed to smile😊. She sometimes gave me " Goody Goody" when I patronize her.

I discovered that no matter how urgent an errand was, I would rather walk the distance to buy from her than the woman next door.
It's that way with everybody.

No wonder people would rather patronize the Hausa man that adds extra Tomatoes and onions than the ones who don't😋

The service or product you sell matters but your mode of delivery matters more!

Sell more than just a product!

In business, it's cheaper to keep your existing customers than looking for new ones.

Your service/product might draw them to you, but how you deliver will determine if they'll stick with you!

20/10/2020

...and the new Era is finally here

16/10/2020

Being always salesy on Social Media will draw customer away rather than towards it. You havwe to set a structure that allows you educate, inspire, entertain your audience before outrightly selling to them. Soon, I'll be sharing tips and strategies that can help you achieve this

14/10/2020

I'm aware of that the adage that says, "the patient dog eats the fattest bone". It has been around for hundred of years. There's a whole lot of story to how it originated (but that's a story for another day)

But time has changed and these dogs doesn't even get to eat any bone at all.

And like I've been questioning myself lately, why was the patient dog eating bone in the first place? Does it mean smarter dogs already ate the meaty part and all they pass on to the other dogs are the left over bones?

You see these smart dogs ehn, some of them don't leave anything behind anymore. They crunch the bones and then go ahead to suck out the proteinous substance in it, leaving you with the useless empty bones that has no nutrient at all🙄

Don't get me wrong yet; patient is a virtue that should be cultured but a lot of people as misinterpreted this adage quite often and have applied it in the wrong context.

BeCalm down, I'm going somewhere☺

"Being patient" doesn't mean all you have to do is just sit down and do "nothing" while waiting for your desires to fall within your laps

How many opportunities have you prepared for?

How many skills have you learnt?

Oh, okay, you have learnt a skill you are just "patiently" waiting for a job?

Have you tried volunteering?

Have you taken it upon yourself to search for internship roles in different companies?

Ever since you graduated with that certificate, have you made a conscious move of preparing a catchy CV? The one that doesn't contain just your Primary school and secondary school certificate as achievements?

Oh, you started a business and you expect it to be a million or even billion dollar enterprise?

If you sit down and do not find out and actually implement the steps in expanding your company, then 'the patient dog' adage won't work out for you.

Do you have a business plan?

What moves and action have you taken apart from being just "patient"?

See ehn, stop saying you're just being patient and start preparing for all these opportunities.

ACTION is the name of the game. Without action, nothing gets done.

Without deliberate action, nothing gets better.

If you want something really bad, you go for it!!!!

13/10/2020

There's this mentality tagged "showing off " or "being proud" when you are confident with your skills and you blow your own trumpet.

This year, I've attended several sessions organized at Google events and one of the quote that was emphasized is :
"It's not bragging if it's a fact"

Once it's a fact that you can write codes well! Please, blow your trumpet! Let everyone know. It's not bragging.

If you can help businesses grow with digital strategies. Stop hiding behind the scene. Come out and tell the world what you do...

If it's public speaking you do so well, forget imposter syndrome, don't let it block your shine. Come out here and tell us!

If you've been that person who has been shy or lack enough courage to tell the world what you do or what you've achieved over the years, please, 2020 is another year to start making changes.

Blow your trumpet!
Tell us what you do!
It's not bragging if there's enough evidence to back it up!
Own your success!
Wear the badge proudly!
If you don't blow your trumpet, who will?😜

In one word, sell yourself in the comment section below

12/10/2020

4 QUICK STEPS TO COMBAT IMPOSTER SYNDROME

These tips have helped me overcome Imposter syndrome

FOCUS ON PROVIDING VALUE: Imposter syndrome can happen when you focus so much on yourself. The fastest way to overcome feeling like an imposter is when you genuinely try to help someone else or focus on solving a particular problem.

Your Failures Doesn’t Make You Fake: Those experts and Guru's in your industry that you look up to make a series of mistakes before getting to the level of expertise you admire now.
Accept the fact that making mistakes is all part of learning and growing. I'm not saying glorify your failure, what I'm saying is don’t let your failures make you feel like you’re not a real contender either.




CELEBRATE YOUR WINS: You feel you don't deserve more because you've been unable to internalize your successes. Each project you complete, no matter how imperfect I'm a small it is, celebrates it.

Take time and celebrate yourself! You're doing well!



STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS: Each time I compare myself to expert around me, I find myself in the trap of
“I’m no good compared to that guy”.

To battle that, Turn off Social Media for a minute, stop reading about the guy who sold out in 1 hour, or those announcing massive sales.

Most of these people failed at some point but not everybody knows exactly when. So learn to respect your own experience. You’re not a fraud, you’re just you!





I’ve found that investing in my mindset, coupled with regular training and webinars with experts in my field has helped reduce my anxiety and panics that imposter syndrome created in the past.

I enjoy what I do more now and I’m far better a Digital Strategist because of it.

Ever battled against Imposter syndrome?

Share it with me.

10/10/2020

Gloria was never proud of herself.

She never saw anything she did as an achievement.

No matter what everyone said to correct this, she still didn't believe in herself.

This didn't affect her alone, her business suffered from it too!

She couldn't boldly come out with her products or tell people about her service. she is constantly condemning herself and always concluding she'll be rejected - even without asking.

Gloria is a fashion designer and anytime she sees any work better than hers, she freaks out and goes back to hiding in the shadow.

Gloria is not suffering from any kind of disease.

She just has low self-esteem about herself and her business.

Yes, I know you are not Gloria. You might not be a fashion designer either. But you can't deny the fact that Gloria's story is quite relatable!

Have you been reluctant to show what you do or tell people about your skills?

Or have you noticed an act of drawing back each time you make a mistake?

You might as well be suffering from Imposter Syndrome.

Did you read my post earlier today?

If you haven't, quickly go back to read the tips that have worked for me.